Reality has a way of blasting away our self-delusions, doesn't it?
It usually happens just as I'm patting myself on the back for maintaining a cheerful outlook on life.
Bingo! Something goes wrong. Maybe I drop a glass and have to clean up the mess. Or I accidentally delete a piece of writing I'd been working on. More often, it's my balky computer acting up again.
Small things, really. Just the drip, drip, drip of daily life.
Some days such "small things"--for no particular reason--feel like the proverbial straw the camel couldn't manage.
"Minor" can feel major when we're already maxed out on coping
Think of someone you know who's been slogging through hard territory for awhile and they're worn out. Every day it takes all they've got just to keep going.
They seldom complain, but you can see it in their eyes.
It's not that they lack faith or internal strength. They're simply exhausted from pushing themselves to keep going.
Or it may be a person who every day deals with an illness or a health challenge that goes on and on. Or it may be one who's the caregiver for a loved one.
If we pay attention we get glimpses of their inner struggles.
The Covid-19 pandemic turned everything upside-down
A lot of moms and dads feel weary to the bone. Some are able to work from home and thankful for that, even though it's difficult when all family members are home 24/7. Throw in trying to do home-schooling and you get a better picture.
Some people were laid-off and don't know if the business where they worked will come back. Still others know their former job is gone for good.
Through it all, husbands and wives and moms and dads try to be all bright and shiny for their spouse and their children.
(Since everyone has been cooped up for weeks, it's safe to say all ages might be, um, a bit prickly.)
In every situation we get to choose
Are you facing a challenge right now and feel pushed to your limits?
We've all been there at some time. Some of us are good at lecturing ourselves to be courageous, to never show strain, etc.
That seldom helps, does it?
I found this quote a couple of years ago and it changed the way I thought about the meaning of strength. Perhaps it will speak to your heart, too. Sorry, I don't know who said it.
Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing to do; but to hold it together when everyone would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.
I've come to realize that the quiet people who just keep doing what they gotta do--whatever the reason--are the real heroes of life.
Always, it's the same question: Now what?
If that's our life, how are we to endure?
To paraphrase that old song, we "pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start all over again."
How do we do that? For me it's by making myself slow down so that I open my eyes to what is, rather than bemoaning what's lost.
If we tune our hearts to see and hear we'll notice the small joys that punctuate every day.
Finches singing the day awake. Owls hooting us to sleep. An unexpected call from old friends passing through town and meeting them for lunch. A handwritten thank-you note for some small kindness we offered when needed.
Most of life consists of the ordinary and routine. If that sounds dull, turn the coin over and see it's also comfortable and reassuring.
The trick is to rejoice over what is
Don't stop there. Let's make the most of what we have while we have it.
Frederick Buechner tells us how to do it:
"I want to live this day out as though it were the first day of my life because that is, of course, what it is. ...
"It is the first day because it has never been before and the last day because it will never be again."
Or as the writer of Psalm 118 put it, in verse 24:
This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Every morning we rejoice because God is gifting us with another day. Then tomorrow, we do it all over again.
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. --Philippians 4:6-7 LNT
That's the sure way to have more "up" days and fewer of the other kind.
Still working on it,
Lenore
